The moment Little Monkey heard Zhao Yin's command, its eyes lit up with excitement.

It was no longer that timid Grade 0 mutant beast from the beginning!

It hadn't killed many zombies lately, and it was starting to worry about losing its place in front of its master.

Little Monkey hefted the Spiked Club and charged toward the twenty-odd zombies.

Roar, roar, roar!

The zombies spotted Little Monkey immediately and swarmed toward it in a counter-charge.

The two F-Grade zombies were the fastest, pulling ahead of the ordinary zombies in an instant.

Too bad for them-what they faced was an E-Grade mutant beast.

Roar!

Little Monkey let out a thunderous roar mid-sprint. Its body rapidly expanded, Heavy Armor clanking and rattling, speed doubling in an instant. Its massive form became a raging gale.

Bang!

One F-Grade zombie didn't even get close before its head exploded under a single club strike.

The mangled corpse sprayed dark brown blood and flew backward.

The second F-Grade zombie had already closed in, jaws gaping wide to bite. Little Monkey's body spun sharply.

Smack!

The hem of the Heavy Armor whipped across the zombie's face. While it was still dazed, Little Monkey brought the Spiked Club crashing down.

Three seconds. Two F-Grade zombies finished.

What followed was simple. The remaining dozen or so ordinary zombies couldn't even get near Little Monkey before they were slaughtered.

Little Monkey stowed the Spiked Club, its body rapidly shrinking back to normal size. It scampered back to Zhao Yin and hugged his knees. "Master, all dead."

"Good work." Zhao Yin patted Little Monkey's head and rewarded it with a Chestnut.

He thought back to just a few days ago, when he'd first arrived at Southern Suburb Village. Those two F-Grade zombies had taken real effort to kill-he'd even had to use his handgun.

"Zhao Yin, I'll go cut watermelons," Song Xiaodao offered.

Even if she hadn't volunteered, Zhao Yin would have ordered her to. This little bit of work-was he supposed to do it himself?

She pulled out her butterfly knife, walked to the nearest F-Grade zombie corpse, and reached in to poke through the foul, blackened brain matter. She quickly found an F-Grade Zombie Core.

Song Xiaodao wiped it clean with practiced ease, then lowered her head to continue searching for what Zhao Yin valued most-Star Crystals.

But after rummaging for a long time, cutting open nearly every drop of brain matter and every fragment of skull...

There wasn't the slightest trace of a Star Crystal.

"Zhao Yin, this is bad! Someone stole this zombie's Star Crystal!" Song Xiaodao shouted anxiously.

Zhao Yin walked over. "What's going on?"

"I can't find the Star Crystal." Song Xiaodao felt useless-she couldn't even handle this simple task.

Zhao Yin drew the Mountain-Cleaving Machete and poked around a few times, then moved to the other F-Grade zombie's corpse.

Just like Song Xiaodao before him, he searched every spot carefully. The result was the same-only two F-Grade Zombie Cores.

No Star Crystal.

"Little Monkey, did you hit too hard and send the Star Crystal flying?" Song Xiaodao looked at Little Monkey accusingly.

Little Monkey wore a bewildered expression. It had always killed zombies this way!

How could the crystal have flown off?

Song Xiaodao and Little Monkey both started searching the area.

"Don't bother." Zhao Yin spoke up, sheathing the Mountain-Cleaving Machete.

"We're giving up on the Star Crystal?" Song Xiaodao asked anxiously.

"These are just ordinary F-Grade zombies. They never devoured a Star Crystal to begin with," Zhao Yin said.

He calculated the time. Nearly half a month had passed since the outbreak. Ordinary zombies evolving to F-Grade should have started appearing days ago.

It was just that Zhao Yin's group had been traveling through mountain forests and hadn't encountered any until now.

By this point, the zombies that had devoured Star Crystals should mostly have evolved to E-Grade. Some might have even reached D-Grade.

"Zombies that haven't devoured Star Crystals can still evolve?" Song Xiaodao's expression shifted.

"Not only can they evolve," Zhao Yin said, "they'll keep evolving indefinitely."

Song Xiaodao didn't know how Zhao Yin knew this, but she believed him without question.

Even though she'd followed Zhao Yin and become an evolver herself, facing an F-Grade zombie alone would still frighten her.

She could only imagine how desperate things were for ordinary survivors right now.

She couldn't bear to think about what would have happened if she'd never met Zhao Yin.

Would she have been eaten by zombies? Or sold off by Wang Quan to certain people, ending up living like Old Qin...

Song Xiaodao didn't dare think further.

Suddenly, she threw herself into Zhao Yin's arms, hugging his waist tightly. Her small body trembled.

Zhao Yin froze. "What's gotten into you now?"

"I... I'm fine." Song Xiaodao's face was pale. "I just want to hold you. Zhao Yin, let me hold you for a bit, okay?"

Zhao Yin stood there, feeling her warm little body pressed tightly against him. Damn it-he actually had a physical reaction.

He considered pushing her away, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Zhao Yin." Song Xiaodao buried her face against his chest. "If one day-I mean, if... if we run into danger again, will you still leave me and Little Monkey behind?"

"I'll do my best to protect you. But if we face a crisis even I can't handle... I'll leave alone." Zhao Yin hesitated briefly, then spoke seriously. "So you need to get stronger."

Song Xiaodao slowly raised her head, pouting at him. "Couldn't you say something nicer? Even a lie would be fine!"

"You want to be lied to?" Zhao Yin looked down, meeting the girl's clear eyes-still carrying a hint of innocence.

Song Xiaodao buried her face in his chest again. "Actually, I prefer the honest you. Didn't you say I'd be your woman in seven years? When I grow up, I'll marry you. So, Zhao Yin, you'd better protect your fiancée."

Zhao Yin hadn't expected her to say something like that.

He raised his hand and pushed her out of his arms. "Get to work!"

Song Xiaodao still stood in front of him, eyes wide. "Zhao Yin, will you marry me someday?"

Zhao Yin turned away. "Monkey, strip the equipment off her and let her see what she's really worth!"

"You bastard!"

Song Xiaodao shrieked, hands flying up to cover herself. "I'll go work, alright?!"

She stomped off to 'cut watermelons,' looking deeply wronged.

After Zhao Yin collected all the Zombie Cores, they set off again.

Along the way, Song Xiaodao kept her head down and didn't say a word.

At some point, the dim yellow sun vanished behind gathering clouds. Thunder rumbled, and fat raindrops began to fall.

The wind picked up, driving rain against Zhao Yin's face.

Cold.

F-Grade evolvers weren't immune to temperature. Song Xiaodao shivered in the cold but still refused to speak to Zhao Yin.

The two mutant beasts didn't mind the weather. Little Monkey frolicked in the rain, dashing ahead and then running back, then dashing forward again... It seemed to find this endlessly entertaining.

Old Bull plodded diligently behind Zhao Yin, occasionally snatching a mouthful of roadside grass, jaws working in slow, steady chews.

"We'll rest here tonight," Zhao Yin said.

He found a clearing and tossed out the Invisibility Tent. Song Xiaodao hurried inside and started a fire to cook.

Zhao Yin sat by the flames, thinking back to his previous life.

After the first rain following the apocalypse, plants across the world would explode with growth. The variety of Mutant Crops would increase as well.

Many survivors who'd barely held on for a month and a half would finally catch a break.

At the same time, surviving animals would grow more active. The wilderness was their true domain.

They'd kill zombies and devour Star Crystals, or hunt live prey for meat. Their strength would surge rapidly. Many Pseudo-Mutant Beasts would emerge...

This rain was injecting life into a broken, ruined world.

Every living thing except zombies finally had a chance to survive.

Zhao Yin's thoughts drifted. Before he knew it, night had deepened.

Suddenly, through the sound of rain, he heard hurried footsteps-approaching fast...

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